I've decided to end this blog and my other 2 in order to focus on one where I'd put everything I want to write about in it. It comes after little thought last night actually but I think I want to start afresh and really focus on making my blog look good. It seems weird cause I spent like 1 hours blogging on this one yesterday but this is my decision. I'll be starting my new blog right away and it'll encompass everything that I want to put in whether it be sport, personal views, TV etc etc, but hopefully now that I only have one blog I could focus on making it look the best.
Best Wishes to everyone (even if it is just a few!)
Friday, 2 January 2009
Thursday, 1 January 2009
Oh! My Girl!
Before I say anything about this drama I just realized my last post was my first of 2009! Well I lost the opportunity already!
Oh! My Girl! is my third drama of Mokomichi's but before I go any further I do still think Zettai Kareshi stays high on the podium for being my favourite Mokomichi drama!
Anyway personally for me this drama didn't set off on a good foot with me, I found that I didn't like much of the casts acting to be honest and I thought the whole thing seemed to be lacking a good production value - however slash me for this if you want I liked Mokomichi!
However as the story progressed I began liking it! It made me keep watching which was not what Gokusen did for me! That's why I rate this drama as slightly better than Gokusen; I'd say maybe 0.5 points ahead of Gokusen 2 if it were out of 10. Personally I'm quite dissapointed with the ratings because it was a good steady drama in the end but I guess it didn't have a good time slot either.
So lets talk about the characters
Kotaru (Mokomichi): I think most of you would say I've become a blind fan of Mokomichi now as I yet again think Mokomichi was one of the best actors/actresses in this drama if not the best, but I just liked his character a lot - somebody that's not afraid to speak his mind, passionate about everything. Personally I found that he did the right thing all the way through the story even though the director wanted us to say "oh Kotaru should have been more caring". Anyway his performance in the last performance was really strong and if I were to have one memory of this drama it would definitely be the final episode where he played the angry Kotaru with Ann's mum and the caring and loveable Kotaru with Ann.
Ann: For a child actress she did well but I did find her at points slightly awkward. I didn't like some of her crying scenes, yeh some were very good but some where she showed her teeth looked very awkward to me. I definitely disliked her at the start when she was all spoilt and selfish - even if she was a child she should have some restraints. Her snuch up attitude made me dislike her a lot in the first few series and the two defining scenes were when she just threw all of Nomoru's food on the floor and when she was destroying Kotaru's things with the pillow. Though I do not approve of slapping a child I think that is what she needed and the Japanese have a different view on that anyway. But I gradually began to like her as you expected when she became less selfish and showed more emotions. However the transition wasn't good as I think she changed a bit too quickly - which is yet again because the series is too short. One question - why isn't she in school of receiving some sort of home education?
Yasuno (Coworker): Like Yankumi's grandfather in Gokusen 2 I personally believe Yasuno's character was like, however the good thing is that she had her little story as well. I loved her and Nomoru and in a way I was distraught that little Nomoru wasn't on screen afterwards but it was a good ending to that subplot. Yasuno was definitely one of the high lights of the show.
Mineko (Manager of Ann): Personally I didn't like her acting at the start of the series but I began to like her (but very slowly) Her defining moment for me funnily enough was in the very last minutes of the drama when she was alone with Kotaru. In actual fact I think the story could have done without her or had her as a smaller character but don't get me wrong I did like her towards the end.
The Shibuya duo!: Nope they were a total pointless mother and son to me. I don't really see the point of their roles in the drama and I was so annoyed when I watched most of their early scenes because I kept on thinking - "Don't they have anything better to do?" So annoyed that the son is younger than me! I'm getting old!!!!!!!
Chief: I got to liking him, which is really the overall opinion of mine towards this drama (I got to liking it). He was caring but in still the Chief, his character was real but yet had his moments where I thought he was a bit too dramaticized! But I still liked his character.
BIWA!!!!: Oh my god I have never seen such a dog in my life! I don't even know how to desribe what I want to desribe! Anyway I loved Biwa!
President: Yet again I got to like him a little, personally I don't really like either of Ann's parents but I liked him more because he cared for Ann even with his cold exterior. Though his part of the story is probably the most dramatical of the lot I did come to like how he was the father but wasn't the typical father character.
Iishida: Didn't really like him in any point of the drama basically because he disliked Kotaru! He was just annoying because he unintentionally tried to harm Kotaru and Ann. He's a real character but I'd rather he wasn't!
Ann's mum: I so dislike her that I don't even remember her name lol and I just watched it! Her voice trumped Hitomi in Gokusen 2 1000000 times! Her voice was so annoying that I couldn't believe it was so annoying' the worst thing is she isn't even a young character like Hitomi was! I didn't like her antics and how she disturbed the serene atmosphere of Ann and Kotaru - to be honest I'd loved it if Ann and Kotaru could just have a few more scenes where they are just playing about and enjoying being together rather than in some emotional storyline, but anyway I'm diverging. She was just so not the mother I wished for and I didn't like how her character could just change and it's all lovely dovely again! All in all my least liked character.
Overall I thought the ending was sweet and real. It didn't jump to anything which is what most dramas in TVB do towards the end. I liked how Kotaru and Ann had to leave each other as in real life that would have happened. I liked how Kotaru and Mineko seemed to be warming to each other slowly even though they didn't really show or realise it in the end. I liked how everything seemed to wrap up but there was still space for your imagination to run wild. Overall it was a sweet little drama which had its flaws but everything has its flaws!
Oh! My Girl! is my third drama of Mokomichi's but before I go any further I do still think Zettai Kareshi stays high on the podium for being my favourite Mokomichi drama!
Anyway personally for me this drama didn't set off on a good foot with me, I found that I didn't like much of the casts acting to be honest and I thought the whole thing seemed to be lacking a good production value - however slash me for this if you want I liked Mokomichi!
However as the story progressed I began liking it! It made me keep watching which was not what Gokusen did for me! That's why I rate this drama as slightly better than Gokusen; I'd say maybe 0.5 points ahead of Gokusen 2 if it were out of 10. Personally I'm quite dissapointed with the ratings because it was a good steady drama in the end but I guess it didn't have a good time slot either.
So lets talk about the characters
Kotaru (Mokomichi): I think most of you would say I've become a blind fan of Mokomichi now as I yet again think Mokomichi was one of the best actors/actresses in this drama if not the best, but I just liked his character a lot - somebody that's not afraid to speak his mind, passionate about everything. Personally I found that he did the right thing all the way through the story even though the director wanted us to say "oh Kotaru should have been more caring". Anyway his performance in the last performance was really strong and if I were to have one memory of this drama it would definitely be the final episode where he played the angry Kotaru with Ann's mum and the caring and loveable Kotaru with Ann.
Ann: For a child actress she did well but I did find her at points slightly awkward. I didn't like some of her crying scenes, yeh some were very good but some where she showed her teeth looked very awkward to me. I definitely disliked her at the start when she was all spoilt and selfish - even if she was a child she should have some restraints. Her snuch up attitude made me dislike her a lot in the first few series and the two defining scenes were when she just threw all of Nomoru's food on the floor and when she was destroying Kotaru's things with the pillow. Though I do not approve of slapping a child I think that is what she needed and the Japanese have a different view on that anyway. But I gradually began to like her as you expected when she became less selfish and showed more emotions. However the transition wasn't good as I think she changed a bit too quickly - which is yet again because the series is too short. One question - why isn't she in school of receiving some sort of home education?
Yasuno (Coworker): Like Yankumi's grandfather in Gokusen 2 I personally believe Yasuno's character was like, however the good thing is that she had her little story as well. I loved her and Nomoru and in a way I was distraught that little Nomoru wasn't on screen afterwards but it was a good ending to that subplot. Yasuno was definitely one of the high lights of the show.
Mineko (Manager of Ann): Personally I didn't like her acting at the start of the series but I began to like her (but very slowly) Her defining moment for me funnily enough was in the very last minutes of the drama when she was alone with Kotaru. In actual fact I think the story could have done without her or had her as a smaller character but don't get me wrong I did like her towards the end.
The Shibuya duo!: Nope they were a total pointless mother and son to me. I don't really see the point of their roles in the drama and I was so annoyed when I watched most of their early scenes because I kept on thinking - "Don't they have anything better to do?" So annoyed that the son is younger than me! I'm getting old!!!!!!!
Chief: I got to liking him, which is really the overall opinion of mine towards this drama (I got to liking it). He was caring but in still the Chief, his character was real but yet had his moments where I thought he was a bit too dramaticized! But I still liked his character.
BIWA!!!!: Oh my god I have never seen such a dog in my life! I don't even know how to desribe what I want to desribe! Anyway I loved Biwa!
President: Yet again I got to like him a little, personally I don't really like either of Ann's parents but I liked him more because he cared for Ann even with his cold exterior. Though his part of the story is probably the most dramatical of the lot I did come to like how he was the father but wasn't the typical father character.
Iishida: Didn't really like him in any point of the drama basically because he disliked Kotaru! He was just annoying because he unintentionally tried to harm Kotaru and Ann. He's a real character but I'd rather he wasn't!
Ann's mum: I so dislike her that I don't even remember her name lol and I just watched it! Her voice trumped Hitomi in Gokusen 2 1000000 times! Her voice was so annoying that I couldn't believe it was so annoying' the worst thing is she isn't even a young character like Hitomi was! I didn't like her antics and how she disturbed the serene atmosphere of Ann and Kotaru - to be honest I'd loved it if Ann and Kotaru could just have a few more scenes where they are just playing about and enjoying being together rather than in some emotional storyline, but anyway I'm diverging. She was just so not the mother I wished for and I didn't like how her character could just change and it's all lovely dovely again! All in all my least liked character.
Overall I thought the ending was sweet and real. It didn't jump to anything which is what most dramas in TVB do towards the end. I liked how Kotaru and Ann had to leave each other as in real life that would have happened. I liked how Kotaru and Mineko seemed to be warming to each other slowly even though they didn't really show or realise it in the end. I liked how everything seemed to wrap up but there was still space for your imagination to run wild. Overall it was a sweet little drama which had its flaws but everything has its flaws!
Gokusen 2
Well I watched Gokusen 2 a few days ago but I thought I'd talk about it. At first I watched it because Hayami Mokomichi was in it and if you don't know why read my previous post. Despite all the negative comments I watched it anyway but personally I thought it wasn't as bad as the comments said it was, OK I haven't watched Gokusen 1 which everyone seems to be screaming about but I think the best thing to do is think of the series as a stand alone one but with similar characters; that allows you to give a more accurate opinion because 9 times out of 10 people dislike the second series because they compare it with the first and pick out everything that is different.
Anyway I personally thought it was an OK/Good series which if you turn that into a score would be about 7 or 8 out of 10; even though Hayami Mokomichi's role was not as large as I wanted it to be!
To me Gokusen 2 was a typical old style Jdrama to me that I'd watched on TVB (Hong Kong channel) all those years back; it has a simple plot, a slight adorable factor about it and it has a repetitive plot in each episode. Skimming through some reviews I did agree with a lot of things people had said and one thing I picked up was how each episode has the basic structure of Yankumi saving her students who are in desperate need of help whilst having a little in between scene with her family. Yes this part did become apparent and slightly annoying towards the middle of the series but to me this is also its charm, it is a simple plotline reminiscent of some Jdrama classics and I think actually deliberately repetitive.
Well now onto the story it was definitely very predictable but sometimes predictable is good when your just looking fro some light-hearted comedy. Let's start with Yankumi played by Nakama Yukie. I loved her portrayal of the goofy and righteous Yankumi who didn't mind getting her hand dirty for her students - perfect teacher yeh! I loved her little detours/moments because they were so adorable and to think how two hairbands and a pair of glasses change someones appearance so much is amazing! I think her character was perfect for this type of drama as it is a light hearted approach to filming such a drama.
Kamenashi Kazuya played Odagiri Ryu, personally I didn't like the character but I did think his performance was overall good. In the end he appeared much less than I thought he would. I didn't really like his character because I think he was too different from his classmates but I don't know whether I would have rather seen him as a talkative guy!
Akanishi Jin played Yabuki Hayato, I liked him more than Odagiri but yet again I don't know why he just didn't attract my attention as much as some other characters. Personally I think I liked Yankumi's family more than Class 3D in general maybe because they had more of a comedy connection.
Hayami Mokomichi played Tsuchiya Hikaru, Yep you guessed it he was my favourite of the 5 main students but not only because it was HM who played it but because I seem to like these type of characters in dramas (don't really know why though!) I loved his episode about him and the student and how he tried to protect her, but anyway back to the point. Talkative and guys that are fun to be around seem to be what I look for in every story whether it be a drama or a novel so that's why I think I liked him the most.
Koike Teppei played Takada Keita, well I liked him and actually his little story arc was probably one of my favourites but I always seemed to think that him and Hyuuga were below the other 3 I don't know why but that's just my opinion.
Koide Kesuke played Hyuuga Kosuke, personally I didn't like him really; his little story arc further solidified that for me.
From this point forward I'm just going to say the character names or roles.
The Vice principal: personally I disliked him but at least he had his redeeming features towards the end, but I still dislike how he continuously reminds us that trash will always be trash - actually you can recycle a lot of trash and then it will be very very useful ;) !
Yankumi's Grandfather: someone liked that had to be in the drama, the person that told the lead to follow her heart - someone that we all expect and actually vital to the storyline in my opinion.
Asakura Tetsu: I loved how he had a crush on Yankumi, just a perfect little sub story for this type of drama. However I'd loved if he could have developed something with Hitomi the english teacher!
Kuma: I loved him and I loved that he was from Gokusen 1's main student cast. Anyway he was the perfect character for such a drama; his name, his appearance, his job every part of him worked in this drama! But I wasn't as happy with his story arc though.
English Teacher Hitomi: Er her voice annoyed me at the start, I just couldn't believe such a voice was possible! But I came to be Ok with it in the end. Her character was OK but I find it totally annoying how she changes heart and emotions so frequently!
Baba Sensei: He reminded me of Derek Kwok whilst I was writing this for some reason?!?!
Anyway I liked Baba and his attempts to woo Yankumi but yet again his story wasn't complete because everything rested on the 3D Students, but hopefully it will in Season 3.
Kujo-sama: Not a favourite of mine and personally I don't have much to say about him but I looked on his dramawiki profile and boy does he work his butt off!
Anyway I think this is about it on the characters. My final words on this are basically repetitive (just like the drama!!!!) The ending was expected, how they all graduate safe and sound, but I would definitely like them to take a few of the characters (Yankumi definitely being one of them) and develop a story on it that is not about school life - just make it slightly different; how Yankumi still cares for them afterwards, it would definitely be a hard drama to write but I think if done well it would be something really nice to watch.
Anyway I personally thought it was an OK/Good series which if you turn that into a score would be about 7 or 8 out of 10; even though Hayami Mokomichi's role was not as large as I wanted it to be!
To me Gokusen 2 was a typical old style Jdrama to me that I'd watched on TVB (Hong Kong channel) all those years back; it has a simple plot, a slight adorable factor about it and it has a repetitive plot in each episode. Skimming through some reviews I did agree with a lot of things people had said and one thing I picked up was how each episode has the basic structure of Yankumi saving her students who are in desperate need of help whilst having a little in between scene with her family. Yes this part did become apparent and slightly annoying towards the middle of the series but to me this is also its charm, it is a simple plotline reminiscent of some Jdrama classics and I think actually deliberately repetitive.
Well now onto the story it was definitely very predictable but sometimes predictable is good when your just looking fro some light-hearted comedy. Let's start with Yankumi played by Nakama Yukie. I loved her portrayal of the goofy and righteous Yankumi who didn't mind getting her hand dirty for her students - perfect teacher yeh! I loved her little detours/moments because they were so adorable and to think how two hairbands and a pair of glasses change someones appearance so much is amazing! I think her character was perfect for this type of drama as it is a light hearted approach to filming such a drama.
Kamenashi Kazuya played Odagiri Ryu, personally I didn't like the character but I did think his performance was overall good. In the end he appeared much less than I thought he would. I didn't really like his character because I think he was too different from his classmates but I don't know whether I would have rather seen him as a talkative guy!
Akanishi Jin played Yabuki Hayato, I liked him more than Odagiri but yet again I don't know why he just didn't attract my attention as much as some other characters. Personally I think I liked Yankumi's family more than Class 3D in general maybe because they had more of a comedy connection.
Hayami Mokomichi played Tsuchiya Hikaru, Yep you guessed it he was my favourite of the 5 main students but not only because it was HM who played it but because I seem to like these type of characters in dramas (don't really know why though!) I loved his episode about him and the student and how he tried to protect her, but anyway back to the point. Talkative and guys that are fun to be around seem to be what I look for in every story whether it be a drama or a novel so that's why I think I liked him the most.
Koike Teppei played Takada Keita, well I liked him and actually his little story arc was probably one of my favourites but I always seemed to think that him and Hyuuga were below the other 3 I don't know why but that's just my opinion.
Koide Kesuke played Hyuuga Kosuke, personally I didn't like him really; his little story arc further solidified that for me.
From this point forward I'm just going to say the character names or roles.
The Vice principal: personally I disliked him but at least he had his redeeming features towards the end, but I still dislike how he continuously reminds us that trash will always be trash - actually you can recycle a lot of trash and then it will be very very useful ;) !
Yankumi's Grandfather: someone liked that had to be in the drama, the person that told the lead to follow her heart - someone that we all expect and actually vital to the storyline in my opinion.
Asakura Tetsu: I loved how he had a crush on Yankumi, just a perfect little sub story for this type of drama. However I'd loved if he could have developed something with Hitomi the english teacher!
Kuma: I loved him and I loved that he was from Gokusen 1's main student cast. Anyway he was the perfect character for such a drama; his name, his appearance, his job every part of him worked in this drama! But I wasn't as happy with his story arc though.
English Teacher Hitomi: Er her voice annoyed me at the start, I just couldn't believe such a voice was possible! But I came to be Ok with it in the end. Her character was OK but I find it totally annoying how she changes heart and emotions so frequently!
Baba Sensei: He reminded me of Derek Kwok whilst I was writing this for some reason?!?!
Anyway I liked Baba and his attempts to woo Yankumi but yet again his story wasn't complete because everything rested on the 3D Students, but hopefully it will in Season 3.
Kujo-sama: Not a favourite of mine and personally I don't have much to say about him but I looked on his dramawiki profile and boy does he work his butt off!
Anyway I think this is about it on the characters. My final words on this are basically repetitive (just like the drama!!!!) The ending was expected, how they all graduate safe and sound, but I would definitely like them to take a few of the characters (Yankumi definitely being one of them) and develop a story on it that is not about school life - just make it slightly different; how Yankumi still cares for them afterwards, it would definitely be a hard drama to write but I think if done well it would be something really nice to watch.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)